


take the world and redefine it

by QueenWithABeeThrone



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Amnesia, Gen, Line of Sight Name, Muteness, POV Minor Character, Pre-Canon, gustav is a dad, the naming of mollymauk tealeaf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-25 00:45:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14367273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenWithABeeThrone/pseuds/QueenWithABeeThrone
Summary: “What?” says Gustav.“The last time someone asked for our papers, we didn’t have MT,” says Ornna.“Well, fuck,” says Gustav.or: how Mollymauk got his name, featuring an honest guard captain and Gustav's late-night flashes of inspiration.





	take the world and redefine it

**Author's Note:**

> title is from "Come Alive", from the soundtrack for The Greatest Showman.
> 
> this will most likely be Jossed but until then, "Mollymauk Tealeaf" is absolutely a line-of-sight name that Gustav came up with because he couldn't think of anything better, and Molly fucking loved it.

The thing about the circus is that everyone involved in it has something of a rather, ah, _morbid_ sense of humor.

Gustav should know: he runs a circus. They’re all weird here, they may as well make light of it, because if not then, hell, what else do they have going for them? It’s something their new member seems to have picked up fast.

 _Empty,_ the tiefling used to say, in those first few days, over and over. _MT,_ the rest of the circus had taken to calling him, and the tiefling—MT, as Gustav’s come to think of him—seems to be fine with it. Hell, he seems to be fine with everything the rest of their motley little family asks of him, although Gustav’s occasionally seen him absently playing around with two swords, juggling them with some ease.

Anyway, it’s been a while since Gustav had to sneak a member of his circus past the Crownsguard. Most of the time, they just end up hitting small towns along backroads, and those don’t require much in the way of paperwork—just a little bit of gold in the right hands, and they’re in.

Only, well.

“We need your papers,” the guard captain says, sternly. “Not your coin.”

“ _Sure_ , you don’t,” Ornna mutters, glancing around. The town they’ve found themselves in is a small town like any other, but unlike any other, their guard captain is a tall woman with hard eyes and flame-red hair who apparently cannot be bribed.

Honest people. _God._ Gustav always forgets there’s still a few in the world, with cast-iron principles and faith in truth and justice.

This captain narrows her eyes at Ornna, but doesn’t comment on her remark. Instead she just looks at Gustav with those steel eyes of hers, and says, “I can’t allow you to set up your circus here if you can’t account for all of your members. I have to think of the safety of the town first.”

“What about their entertainment?” Gustav says. “What about their morale? Surely you could allow—”

“I could,” says the captain, folding her arms. “If, and only if, you provide me with the papers I need in a week.” She looks Gustav dead in the eye. “If not, then I’m afraid I will have to bar your way. And believe me, such an act would not give me any pleasure.”

The hell of it is, he believes her.

\--

“Well, fuck,” says Ornna, succinctly.

“It’s not that bad,” says Gustav, shrugging as he and Ornna step out into the sun. Their camp is just outside of town, near a lovely stretch of beach that’s regularly visited by what Gustav’s great-grandma used to call mollymawks. “We still have all our papers from the last time someone asked for them.”

Ornna turns to look at him, her eyes narrowed.

“What?” says Gustav.

“The last time someone asked for our papers, we didn’t have MT,” says Ornna.

“Well, fuck,” says Gustav.

\--

Gustav is very, very good at forging papers.

He’s. Well. He’s _less_ good at forging an entirely new person from scratch, and that’s pretty much what MT is: someone with no past, a blank slate, forging a whole new person.

...and that new person apparently _really_ likes playing card games with Toya, because he finds the two of them engaged in the middle of a game with Desmond’s favorite deck. MT cuts and shuffles with little of the clumsiness he used to have, and deals out a couple of cards to Toya, who frowns down at her hand.

“This is bad,” she says, “isn’t it?”

MT puts his finger to his lips with a little smile.

“Oh, right, I can’t say,” says Toya. “Um. All right. Which one of us goes first?”

Gustav watches them both, sees the way MT slips a card up the sleeve of his borrowed coat. Nearby, Kylre lets out a loud snore and turns over in his sleep, and Toya glances away for long enough for MT to slip another card into her hand. She turns back and looks down, surprise flashing across her face.

The game goes on, and MT loses. He chuckles a little, and passes a bag of tea leaves off to Toya in response. Toya hugs him, and scampers off to Kylre.

Gustav walks over, and sits down next to MT, watches as he cuts and shuffles the deck once more. Maybe they’ll have a fortune teller again, god knows the circus needs one, and a tiefling fortune teller would be a curiosity indeed. After Thistlebucket’s arrest—

Wait.

Wait a minute.

“Thistlebucket,” Gustav mutters out loud, and MT glances up from his cards, silently inquisitive. “Although—how do you feel about that, MT?”

MT just blinks at him and opens his mouth. He shuts it again, frowning, and shakes his head.

“All right, definitely not Thistlebucket,” says Gustav. “That’d prove mighty confusing.”

MT raises his eyebrows, tucking his cards away into a pocket.

Gustav sighs. “I’m forging papers for you,” he says. “And I’m trying to think of a name.”

MT runs a hand through his hair, growing out now in short purple curls. He shrugs, and traces the letters _MT_ in the air.

“I think the guard captain would be more than a little suspicious of you if we said your name was just MT,” says Gustav, regretfully. “We have until the end of the week, anyway, I’m sure we’ll come up with something by then.”

\--

By the end of the week, Gustav’s procured the materials he needs, found the fancy ink he’d sworn up and down he’d lost in that fracas in the last town, stolen his lucky quill back from Ornna, and even procured a couple of handwriting samples.

He still, however, doesn’t have a _name_. He’s been entertaining names the whole week, dismissing each and every single one of them because they don’t quite feel right. He’s starting to think they may have to pack up and leave tomorrow, because there’s no way he can sneak a tiefling carnie just named MT past the guard captain. Honest person like that, she’ll think they’re up to something.

He sighs, and reaches for his cup of tea and drains the last dregs. He glances down.

He stares.

“ _Tealeaf_ ,” he says, an idea popping into his brain, and rushes out of his tent. He nearly trips over a mollymawk that’s decided to hop down in front of his tent, and—wait, wait, Mollymawk, that could be a name, how did his great-grandma spell it again—

He does, in fact, trip over MT, who’s sleeping near the campfire. It must’ve been his watch.

MT nearly falls off the log in surprise, hand unsheathing the carnival-glass scimitar he’s been practicing with. He points the sword out in a panic, then blinks at Gustav, then the cup, then back at Gustav again, and sheepishly lowers his sword.

“That does not spell good things for me,” says Gustav.

MT shakes his head, and sheathes the sword, holds his hands up. He points to himself, then to Gustav.

“I think I have something,” says Gustav. “How do you feel about Mollymauk Tealeaf? Molly for short?”

MT pauses. Then he smiles, and nods.

\--

(The next time Molly sees Gustav again, it’s back in Trostenwald, after what is frankly the most fucked-up year of Molly’s life, never mind that he has only two other years to compare it to. Those two years were downright _tame_.

Jester’s disappeared for a time with Nott and Beau, ostensibly so they can restock on healing potions. Molly suspects they’re really going to make the poor keeper of the general store’s life hell. Caleb has gone off to buy more books, the nerd, Fjord is recovering from having been brought back from the dead, Yasha’s doing something for her Storm Lord, and Molly is—

Well, Molly’s got some money. Not enough, but some. He ambles down to the Lawmaster, greets Norda with a grin and a few nice words about her hair, and asks where Gustav is.

He heads over to the Usteloch, flicks a wave to a couple of the Crownsguard. Gustav’s there, helping to muck out some of the dirt and garbage in the loch, and for a moment Molly stands still, unsure of what to do. Will Gustav blame him for putting him in this mess? Will he know anything about what’s happened in Zadash, with the Gentleman, the Tomb Takers, everything? Shit, how is Molly going to explain any of that?

He sighs. Then he steps forward and calls, hating the way his voice cracks a little, “Gustav?”

Gustav straightens up, and whips around. “Molly!” he calls, with a bright grin and eyes practically sparkling with delight. He throws the rake he’s been using aside, and all but launches himself at Molly in a hug. “Molly, my god, how long has it been?”

Molly relaxes, for the first time in—a while. He hugs him back, and says, “Far too long, Gustav—are you all right?”

“I’ve been better,” says Gustav, breaking away and shrugging, “but I’m well enough. You—I’ve been hearing stories, though, are you all right?”

Molly licks his lips, and sighs. “It’s been a fucked-up year,” he says. “Made me think of you, actually.”

Gustav blinks, and tucks his hands into his pockets. “Really?” he says.

“You gave me my name,” says Molly. “I’ve never thanked you for that. After this year, I’ve been wondering if I should have, so—thank you. For giving me my name.” _For giving a mute tiefling you found in a ditch a second chance. For showing him some kindness. For the stories and the two years and the bailing me out and the name._

Gustav smiles, softly, and says, “You made it your own. I just got you started.”)

**Author's Note:**

> the guard captain is absolutely based off of Aveline from DA2, I lov her.


End file.
